A walking tour of Fairhope, Alabama

Downtown Fairhope, Alabama. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Fairhope, Alabama, is the cutest town on the planet.

 I know that many may disagree with that statement, particularly if they live in other contending towns. But I bet they've never visited Fairhope on a clear, warm October day, when the downtown merchants have their doors open and the restaurants patios are filled with tourists and townies alike.

Fairhope, Alabama. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Fairhope is on the eastern side of Mobile Bay and is filled with memorable restaurants like Panini Pete's, a must-visit sandwich shop that you just may have seen if you follow Guy Fieri's Food Network show "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives."

Panini Pete's. Fairhope, Alabama. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

The decor is Gulf Coast funky.

Panini Pete's. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

And the food is dynamite. Like my favorite, the Seared Tuna with cucumbers, sliced tomato, baby greens and Key lime aioli on ciabatta.

Seared tuna panini. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Grilled cheese for the kidoodle.

Grilled cheese. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

After lunch at Panini Pete's we walked around the downtown area and my friend introduced us to R. Bistro and Pastry, where the pastry case is filled with lovely sweets and the decor is all about Southern charm.

Caramel apples. R. Bistro, Fairhope, Alabama. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Autumn display at R. Bistro. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

R. Bistro, Fairhope, Alabama. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

R. Bistro desserts. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Downtown Fairhope features art galleries.

Art. Fairhope, Alabama. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Fairhope museum. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Fairhope has a  fascinating history featuring socialists, economists, dreamers and doers. The town museum covers it all.

Fairhope mural. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Antique fire engine. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

The museum is located in the city's former jail. And this is the lock-up, a former ship's brig.

Jail at Fairhope Museum. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

The museum currently spotlights the area residents' participation in World War II.

World War II Memorial at Fairhope Museum. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

This was an afternoon excursion and we didn't allow enough time to fully view the museum. I will definitely be back!

On our way back to the beach, we relived the day in Fairhope with a piece of R. Bistro's lemon meringue tart...

Lemon meringue tart from R. Bistro. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

If you've been to Fairhope, please tell me where I need to visit on my next trip. If you've never been, please tell me your vote for cutest town on the planet.

Text and images copyright 2012, Lucy Mercer.

Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo (Field Trip)

Tiger cub at Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

The Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo, is a pint-size zoo in Gulf Shores, known as the Little Zoo That Could, from the Animal Planet series of a few years ago. The zoo is a remarkably fun outing for families, especially those who want to get really close to wildlife, like tiger cubs and lemurs that are brought out for encounters with human participants.

Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

 The zoo's stars are the baby tigers, but the zoo is also home to exotic birds.

Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

and humble tortoises...

Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

There is a  petting zoo with goats...

Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

And because this the Gulf Coast, there are gators that may be real...

Gator. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

And gators that definitely are real.

Gator. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

This monster one is famous. His name is Chucky and back in 2004, he escaped from the zoo during Hurricane Ivan. He was captured after five days of freedom. At 12 feet in length and at least 1,000 pounds, I'd say that took some serious gator-rassling to bring him him in.

Chuckie at Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

The zoo has more than 290 animals, including lions, tigers, bears, macaws. There's everything from timber wolves...

Timber wolf. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

to swans. I wonder if some of the animals sleep at night. Predator and prey live pretty close to each other here.

Swan. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

The stars, of course, are the baby tigers and for a donation to the zoo, you can get up close to the animals. We watched while the others played, and although we didn't get to touch the animals, we were still much closer than we ever expected to be to Baby Tigers.

Tiger encounters. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

The cubs are led out to the encounter area with all the buzz of a Hollywood premiere.

Tiger encounter. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Tiger cub. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Tiger cub. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Petting a tiger cub. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Playful tiger cubs. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Snack time. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books.

Tiger eying teddy bear. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Baby tiger with teddy bear. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Be sure to visit the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo when you're on the Gulf Coast. And check out its website: www.alabamagulfcoastzoo.org. The zoo will move to a new location in Gulf Shores in 2013. Look for it!

Text and images copyright 2012, Lucy Mercer.

Satsumas

Satsuma. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Local school officials came up with the best idea they've had in years: a full week off in October. Not just a long weekend for Columbus Day, but an honest-to-gosh week off, bookended with solid weekends. For my family, this meant loading up the minivan and heading to the beach, the sunny Gulf Coast of Alabama, home of squeaky sand, unlimited fried seafood shacks and bountiful produce.

Where I live in north Georgia, the autumn months mean apple season. In L.A. (Lower Alabama), the cooler months mean citrus, and we just happened to be there in the middle of satsuma season. What is a satsuma? Well, it's a kind of mandarin orange, seedless and very sweet. If you're familiar with the now-ubiquitous clementine, then you're on the right track. the satsuma is a little bit softer and quite a bit sweeter than a clemmie.If you're coming from the tangerine frame of mind, satsumas are not nearly as tart, and with a peel that zips away from the fruit. (in other words, the satsuma is a superior fruit)

The friendly and helpful clerk at the Burris Farm Market in Loxley, Alabama, assured me that they were excellent this year, even the green ones, and that satsumas were her favorite citrus. I bought two pounds and I should have bought 20 - they were half-gone when we reached home and completely gone the next day.

Satsumas. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

When I got home with the fruit, while I was still entertaining the idea of cooking the satsumas, I looked through John Besh's beautiful cookbook, "My New Orleans," and saw that he uses satsumas in the Christmas standby, ambrosia. There's another lovely recipe that sounds like it would be worth saving satsumas for ~ Citrus Pots de Creme with Lavener Madeleines.

Satsumas. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books.

What about you? If you're headed to the Gulf Coast, bring me back some satsumas!

Text and images copyright 2012. Lucy Mercer.

A Taste of Summer, #SeriousSandwich

Caprese Sandwich. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

It may be the same blue sky here in Georgia, but my mind is still in Orange Beach, on the Alabama Gulf Coast, where we spent a gloriously lazy Fall Break last week. Sugar-white sand between my toes (it squeaks when you walk on it!), crazy amounts of fried seafood, and not a care in the world for a week.

View of the beach. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

 No alarm clocks, no homework, no clocking in and clocking out, just building sand castles during the day and strolling idly down the beach at sunset.

Orange Beach, Alabama. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Coming back home to evening temps in the 40s and seeing the trees turn their heathered shades of plum, ochre and sienna, I had in mind a final taste of summer ~ the Caprese Sandwich from "Emeril's Kicked-Up Sandwiches" (Morrow, $24.99). This sandwich is more than a Caprese Salad with a bread foundation and lid ~ Emeril kicks it up with garlic and olive oil, and you'll just have to buy the book to find out! (Trust me, you will find lots of great recipes to make for your family in this book!)

Caprese, open-face. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

I pulled the last of the basil from the garden, the plants offering scrawny, but still flavorful, leaves. Fresh mozz, a final juicy tomato, and there it was, summer on the plate. Like the sand buckets and swimsuits, beach towels and sunscreen, this recipe will be tucked away until next summer. And in July, when the heat beats down and the cicadas start to hum, my gardening friends will bring me homegrown tomatoes. And I'll slice up a Better Boy still kissed with the morning dew, layer it mozzarella, top it with the abundant, full, basil from my herb garden, and savor the taste of summer again.

Sunset at Orange Beach. Laura Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Text and images copyright 2012, Lucy Mercer. 

With the exception of Emeril's book cover, that belongs to Morrow Cookbooks.

Emeril’s Kicked-Up Sandwiches (Morrow, $24.99)

If you love cookbooks like I do, you gotta follow The Secret Ingredient Blog from Morrow Books. 

This post is part of #SeriousSandwich, a cookalong to celebrate the publication of Emeril's Kickked-Up Sandwiches. For more great #SeriousSandwich posts, follow #SeriousSandwich on Twitter.

Fried green tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe

Fried green tomatoes with remoulade. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

There they are, my friends, the sweet and savory fried green titular tomatoes from one of my favorite books and movies. "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe" by Fannie Flagg is about as Southern as it gets - comedy, tragedy, and good food.

The Whistlestop Cafe. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

The book is set in Whistlestop, Alabama, and is based on Flagg's hometown of Irondale, Alabama. The movie version, however, was filmed in Georgia, in the teeny town of Juliette, about 10 miles east of I-75, south of Atlanta and north of Macon. It's a mill town built along the Ocmulgee River, with a former general store right by the train tracks that figure so prominently in the book. It's hard to believe the movie was released 20 years ago -the little town still enjoys a tourist trade all these years later.

In October, we took a day trip from Atlanta to Macon, with a stop at the Whistlestop for some authentic Southern food. The day was crisp and the sky was blue. And the fried green tomatoes and fried chicken were excellent.

Fried chicken with collard greens. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Good Food sign at the Whistlestop. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Interior, Whistlestop Cafe. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Shops in Juliette, Georgia. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

The shops in Juliette are cute, but the real draw is the Whistlestop. There's a bit of a wait, but the time goes quickly while waiting on the front porch, or browsing the shops.

Sure wish Buddy had read this sign before he decided to run across the train tracks...

Sign by railroad tracks. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Smokey Lonesome's shack is located behind the Whistlestop.

Smokey Lonesome's shack. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

And of course, Frank Bennett's memorial. Remember, the secret's in the sauce.

The secret's in the sauce. Lucy Mercer/ A Cook and Her Books

Juliette, Georgia. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

The mill has been closed since 1957 - it was formerly owned by Dixie Lily and Martha White.

The Mill in Juliette, Georgia. Lucy Mercer/ A Cook and Her Books

The sheriff's office and a few other stop s in downtown Juliette...

Sheriff's office. Lucy Mercer/ A Cook and Her Books

The bank in Juliette. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Sign at Whistlestop Cafe. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Front porch of the Whistlestop Cafe. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Whistlestop train depot. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Do you love "Fried Green Tomatoes?" Either book, movie or dish counts. Of course, if you can quote lines from the movie or book, you're my best friend! My favorite line is from Towanda:  "Face it girls, I'm older and I carry more insurance."

Text and images copyright Lucy Mercer 2012.